What Is Parked In Your Driveway?

Anyone got advice for buying a new car? For the last 20+ years I just bought directly from my brother who sold Fords, so now I'm on my own. Been reading up on how to approach a dealership, things like getting pre-approved before going in, focus on the "out the door" number vs monthly payment, don't talk trade-in until the end, etc. Anything else I should have in mind?

dont by new

let someone else take the new car depreciation; anything under 30k just needed maybe 3 oil changes; check car fax

i wouldn't get a Ford

what do you want

i also find they like to stick to the price on the car they are selling you and play with your trade in

you will get the most wiggle room on a used car deal, new cars they make very little on, its all about volume of new cars for them

do not pay MARK UPs if you want a popular car keep searching or find something different; the mark ups will put you upside down in a heart beat

toyota or honda for me

i like the RAV4 Hybrd or the RAV4 Prime, its pricey the prime

i drive a 4Runner zero issues i have had two in my life zero issues, had a 2020 explore for i think 2 months, traded it in so fast, poop on wheels

I have two Hyundai Santa Fe's . First it's really is the best warranty in the business. Both have been extremely good and reliable for us. All I can tell you is do your homework before you go in there. If you're not sure then test drive the cars you're interested in.

dont by new

let someone else take the new car depreciation; anything under 30k just needed maybe 3 oil changes; check car fax

i wouldn't get a Ford

what do you want

i also find they like to stick to the price on the car they are selling you and play with your trade in

you will get the most wiggle room on a used car deal, new cars they make very little on, its all about volume of new cars for them

do not pay MARK UPs if you want a popular car keep searching or find something different; the mark ups will put you upside down in a heart beat

toyota or honda for me

i like the RAV4 Hybrd or the RAV4 Prime, its pricey the prime

i drive a 4Runner zero issues i have had two in my life zero issues, had a 2020 explore for i think 2 months, traded it in so fast, poop on wheels

I'm looking at a Lexus ES 300H. Yeah I know buying used is smarter but fuck it, this was supposed to be my 50th birthday present for myself back in 2022 but with covid and the supply issue with cars I put it off until now. I haven't had a car payment in 4 years so I've been saving that money. I plan on keeping this car for the next 10 years.

I'm looking at a Lexus ES 300H. Yeah I know buying used is smarter but fuck it, this was supposed to be my 50th birthday present for myself back in 2022 but with covid and the supply issue with cars I put it off until now. I haven't had a car payment in 4 years so I've been saving that money. I plan on keeping this car for the next 10 years.

Good vehicle The way we work it I buy the Mrs. a new one every5-6 years and I take her old one which with Hyundai is still under warranty. She puts around 6-7 thousand mi a year.

I'm looking at a Lexus ES 300H. Yeah I know buying used is smarter but fuck it, this was supposed to be my 50th birthday present for myself back in 2022 but with covid and the supply issue with cars I put it off until now. I haven't had a car payment in 4 years so I've been saving that money. I plan on keeping this car for the next 10 years.

Sounds good , both my runners I got new knowing I keep them a long time , if you are need something new every 3 years like my wife , lease or used

Anyone got advice for buying a new car? For the last 20+ years I just bought directly from my brother who sold Fords, so now I'm on my own. Been reading up on how to approach a dealership, things like getting pre-approved before going in, focus on the "out the door" number vs monthly payment, don't talk trade-in until the end, etc. Anything else I should have in mind?

There's an argument to be made for used and new - new cars depreciate quickly. But if you plan on buying a car and making it last for 10+ years go for new - with a used car you have no idea how the previous owner drove it or why they sold it with presumably low miles.

Go get a car loan from your bank and take that to the dealership and let them convince you to finance through the manufacturer for a better rate - I got offered 2.9% from Navy Federal back in 2018 and I flipped that for 1.9% from Honda. Definitely focus on the out-the-door cost vs monthly payment - they will ask you what you want your montly payment to be and you should just tell them you want your OTD cost to be under x instead because they can do that funny math in a hurry to get you to sign. You've hit the good spots - don't talk trade in until the end because they will always try to low ball you. Treat it like a separate transaction. Actually take your car to Carmax first and get them to give you an offer then when you go to buy a car see if the dealership can beat that offer. Also never take the first offer - get it in writing and take it to another dealer and see if they can beat it.

Personal manufacturer rankings are subjective - for me it was always Toyota and Honda 1a and 1b. Now that I have a Civic that I bought brand new and it has 140k miles on it and I've witnessed firsthand the shit quality of certain aspects (battery died after 40k miles and the warranty only covered it to 36k, I've had 3 axles put in it under warranty because the boot keeps tearing and they're still having issues) I'm pretty jaded towards Honda. I think they're living off their reputation from the 90's. Going back to Toyota for my next car.

I also have the luxury of working on a fleet with 6k vehicles and most of our light duty units are Ford, Chevy, and Dodge - I'm jaded for life after working on these shitboxes. I would rank them Ford then Chevy then Dodge - Dodge has powertrain issues out the ass. We have Chargers, Caravans, Pacificas, Rams and they all have suspension and powertrain issues. Chevy is better but not by much. We're predominantly a Ford fleet and they have all kinds of issues from electronics in the new models to suspension/powertrain/etc issues in the older ones (but I also work on police cars and they beat the piss out of those). I don't think I'll ever buy domestic again unless it's an old shitbox that I can fix up and keep as a basic beater.

I'm looking at a Lexus ES 300H. Yeah I know buying used is smarter but fuck it, this was supposed to be my 50th birthday present for myself back in 2022 but with covid and the supply issue with cars I put it off until now. I haven't had a car payment in 4 years so I've been saving that money. I plan on keeping this car for the next 10 years.

Good call - Lexus is top of the reliability rankings (https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds) by a wide margin.

And if you plan on keeping it for 10 years obviously you want something with low miles. I would go for new too. Also once you get into finance if they don't sell the car with extended warranty see if you can haggle them down - I haggled down the 100k full coverage warranty from $2800 to $1k when I bought my Civic new in 2018.

There's an argument to be made for used and new - new cars depreciate quickly. But if you plan on buying a car and making it last for 10+ years go for new - with a used car you have no idea how the previous owner drove it or why they sold it with presumably low miles.

Go get a car loan from your bank and take that to the dealership and let them convince you to finance through the manufacturer for a better rate - I got offered 2.9% from Navy Federal back in 2018 and I flipped that for 1.9% from Honda. Definitely focus on the out-the-door cost vs monthly payment - they will ask you what you want your montly payment to be and you should just tell them you want your OTD cost to be under x instead because they can do that funny math in a hurry to get you to sign. You've hit the good spots - don't talk trade in until the end because they will always try to low ball you. Treat it like a separate transaction. Actually take your car to Carmax first and get them to give you an offer then when you go to buy a car see if the dealership can beat that offer. Also never take the first offer - get it in writing and take it to another dealer and see if they can beat it.

Personal manufacturer rankings are subjective - for me it was always Toyota and Honda 1a and 1b. Now that I have a Civic that I bought brand new and it has 140k miles on it and I've witnessed firsthand the shit quality of certain aspects (battery died after 40k miles and the warranty only covered it to 36k, I've had 3 axles put in it under warranty because the boot keeps tearing and they're still having issues) I'm pretty jaded towards Honda. I think they're living off their reputation from the 90's. Going back to Toyota for my next car.

I also have the luxury of working on a fleet with 6k vehicles and most of our light duty units are Ford, Chevy, and Dodge - I'm jaded for life after working on these shitboxes. I would rank them Ford then Chevy then Dodge - Dodge has powertrain issues out the ass. We have Chargers, Caravans, Pacificas, Rams and they all have suspension and powertrain issues. Chevy is better but not by much. We're predominantly a Ford fleet and they have all kinds of issues from electronics in the new models to suspension/powertrain/etc issues in the older ones (but I also work on police cars and they beat the piss out of those). I don't think I'll ever buy domestic again unless it's an old shitbox that I can fix up and keep as a basic beater.

a dead battery and multiple torn cv boots is not bad for 140k

my first runner the rear differential went out at 50K ; when they went to fix it they said it had half the required gear oil and that shit was built in japan

shit happens even to the best of the best

There's an argument to be made for used and new - new cars depreciate quickly. But if you plan on buying a car and making it last for 10+ years go for new - with a used car you have no idea how the previous owner drove it or why they sold it with presumably low miles.

Go get a car loan from your bank and take that to the dealership and let them convince you to finance through the manufacturer for a better rate - I got offered 2.9% from Navy Federal back in 2018 and I flipped that for 1.9% from Honda. Definitely focus on the out-the-door cost vs monthly payment - they will ask you what you want your montly payment to be and you should just tell them you want your OTD cost to be under x instead because they can do that funny math in a hurry to get you to sign. You've hit the good spots - don't talk trade in until the end because they will always try to low ball you. Treat it like a separate transaction. Actually take your car to Carmax first and get them to give you an offer then when you go to buy a car see if the dealership can beat that offer. Also never take the first offer - get it in writing and take it to another dealer and see if they can beat it.

Personal manufacturer rankings are subjective - for me it was always Toyota and Honda 1a and 1b. Now that I have a Civic that I bought brand new and it has 140k miles on it and I've witnessed firsthand the shit quality of certain aspects (battery died after 40k miles and the warranty only covered it to 36k, I've had 3 axles put in it under warranty because the boot keeps tearing and they're still having issues) I'm pretty jaded towards Honda. I think they're living off their reputation from the 90's. Going back to Toyota for my next car.

I also have the luxury of working on a fleet with 6k vehicles and most of our light duty units are Ford, Chevy, and Dodge - I'm jaded for life after working on these shitboxes. I would rank them Ford then Chevy then Dodge - Dodge has powertrain issues out the ass. We have Chargers, Caravans, Pacificas, Rams and they all have suspension and powertrain issues. Chevy is better but not by much. We're predominantly a Ford fleet and they have all kinds of issues from electronics in the new models to suspension/powertrain/etc issues in the older ones (but I also work on police cars and they beat the piss out of those). I don't think I'll ever buy domestic again unless it's an old shitbox that I can fix up and keep as a basic beater.

that is great advice and what i usually do, i was thinking to add that

this guy is the go to guy for Toyota/ lexus

https://www.youtube.com/@TheCarCareNut